Information About James - Liverpool teacher

Personal Description:

Having trained as a Primary and Secondary school tutor and operated as a fieldwork tutor at university level, I decided to return to my love of music and teach the instruments I have enjoyed playing. I trained classically on cello from the age of 8 and began playing bass guitar when I joined a band at 13. Since then I have not looked back, having played, performed and toured as a professional musician with multiple bands. I want to share my passion for the instrument which is so often overlooked and under appreciated, but which sculpts the percussive and rhythmic underside of any piece of music and becomes a cornerstone of any band. I take students on a journey toward mastery of the bass guitar with a focus on writing and creating bass parts, improvisation skills and playing with others as well as learning to play great music already written for the instrument. As well as bass guitar, I also play cello, guitar and drums.

Tutoring Experience:

I trained in youth and community work and have a broad and varied experience of teaching in multiple fields and apply this experience to my instrumental teaching. I trained and delivered maths and science to primary and secondary students up to GCSE level and adopted an exploratory approach, equipping students on a journey of self-discovery and learning. I apply the same approach to instrument teaching, releasing pupils to explore their instrument and having fun learning and experimenting while guiding technique to get the best sound and experience out of the instrument. I have also worked as a fieldwork tutor at university level and have taught Guitar and Ukulele with a Creative Arts and Theatre Company based in Liverpool.

Tutoring Approach:

Music is an expressive language of sound and feeling and an instrument is a beautifully and precisely crafted tool to enable that expression. I believe that the best way to learn an instrument is to really get to know it and thus facilitate a fun environment of exploration to enable you to discover and understand what your instrument does and how to get your sound out of it. Technique is an area often overlooked, but small changes in technique can release a musician who has plateaued into new heights so I focus on building in good technique (mostly borrowed from cello) from the start and tackle problem areas with students wanting to move forward. As well as following graded syllabus, I use my own teaching resources to release you to create your own bass parts, play with a band and improvise solos. My resources book is available on Amazon but i provide a free copy to each student on them booking a series of lessons. During our first lesson, I want to learn what you dreams and aspiration are for the instrument to tailor your tuition to you.